TVs Help Boost Matsushita Profit

TOKYO -- Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. said Monday its quarterly profit more than doubled as the consumer electronics giant fought off retail price falls with cost cuts and a lower tax burden.

The Japanese manufacturer of Panasonic brand electronics said its net profit jumped to 61.6 billion yen ($589 million) in its fourth fiscal quarter ended March 31, from 23.4 billion yen in the same period a year earlier.